


My Musical Romance

by insanity_times_ten, PikaPals16



Series: Six in a high school band [1]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Beheaded Cousins, But Only For One Chapter - Freeform, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Gay Panic, High School Band AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parrmour, WE NEED MORE CLEVELEYN CONTENT, and anne is just flustered as hell, anna flirts so much, anne is now in gay panic mode at all times, auditions, cleveleyn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:02:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28167450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insanity_times_ten/pseuds/insanity_times_ten, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PikaPals16/pseuds/PikaPals16
Summary: Anne and Kit decide to make a band.Totally normal right?Not.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn & Katherine Howard, Anne Boleyn/Anne of Cleves, Catherine Parr/Jane Seymour
Series: Six in a high school band [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127261
Comments: 20
Kudos: 26





	1. Hey, let's start a band!

**Author's Note:**

> insanity_times_ten and i are starting something together yayyy!  
> if u didn't know, we kinda have very different writing styles, so if it changes, then i am sorry

“Okay. I have an idea.” Kit’s eyes widen at her older cousin’s introduction as she sits down next to her. If the sentence comes in the middle of the conversation, it’s a completely random idea that’s usually safe (any possible sugar highs aside). If it’s after a long bit of silence, she’s out for revenge, the level of difficulty and safety will lean towards the more ‘dangerous’ side. So the fact that she’s beginning with it means she has some elaborate scheme that’s too big for her to handle, so she needs to ask her younger cousin. 

Kit pushes her English notes aside. “What’s this idea you speak of?”

“We should start a band. I think we could be pretty good.” Kit nods, going back to studying. Anne eyes her, waiting for a response. “That’s it? Are you in or out?”

“I wanna see how far you’re willing to go on this.”

“Well, we’ll have auditions, then we’ll have to practice, we’ll do all sorts of gigs and stuff…”

Kit holds up a hand. “Hold on. When are we gonna have auditions? _Where_?”

“Ummm…” Anne fidgets for a little bit. “We can put up a few posters around the school and have them… in the music room, maybe? In a few weeks?”

“Okay. What kind of a band would it be?”

“Not sure yet. We’ll figure that out." Kit doesn't ask anything after that, causing Anne to tilt her head in confusion. "That's it? You're not gonna say anything else? No more questions?"

The younger of the duo only shrugs, her eyes not turning away from her notes. The older of them, rather impatient with the lack of an agreement, starts to shake Kit, whining like a primary school student.

"Kiiiiiiiit are you in or nooooooot?" Unfortunately for her, the bell rings, causing Kit to shove her notes into her backpack. Just before she leaves, she stares Anne straight in the eyes.

"Meet me here after school to help me with the posters." For a second Anne stands at the now empty space, dumbfounded. But then the edges of her mouth turn upward, and Anne can already feel her mind buzzing with ideas.

* * *

And sure enough, after school Kit is sitting at their usual table, with a bunch of art supplies she'd somehow gathered. She waves the girl in green over, pointing to the seat across from her.

"Okay okay okay. So, what are we thinking for a theme, because our posters should reflect what kind of band we are." Anne gives her underclassman a classic Boleyn-smirk.

"What's with the excitement? You were interrogating me like a cop, at lunch." The girl in pink holds her finger up, to silence the girl across from her.

"I just wanted to make sure that you didn't go in over your head, and that you're _actually_ gonna put in the work. That being said, I'm actually really excited!" Anne can't stop the grin on her face, the fact that her younger cousin is in makes her excited. "But actually, help me out here, I gotta have _some_ guidelines."

"Uhhh I don't know.... I told you at lunch, we're gonna figure out what _kind_ of band later." Kit tilts her head at this, Anne's eyes widening as she's seen this behavior countless times before. "No...Don't...." Anne barely makes it to a minute before she gives in to Kit's pouting. "Ughhh, curse your Howard-Hypnosis!"

"Your fault."

"Anyway, you can do what you want," Anne continues, choosing to ignore the previous comment. "But if you _really_ need something.....I guess purple?"

"Purple?" Kit asks, tilting her head.

"Hey, you asked." The older cousin expects some sort of witty response, but nothing arises. "What, that bad?" Kit shakes her head.

"Not in the slightest."

* * *

Okay. Audition posters, with the permission of Kit's choir teacher, are posted around the school. Now that their plan is officially set into motion, the two cousins are faced with much anticipation as they wait for the audition day.

Well, days actually. Ultimately, they decided on setting multiple audition dates, one, because they don't know how many people would be interested (thought they aren't expecting a lot--it's high school), and two, because they know people have lives and it wouldn't be fair is someone were interested, but couldn't make it due to schedule.

So, there're three days listed on each poster. The Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday about a week and a half from now. Gotta give people some time to prepare, right?

Anne and Kit aren't going to lie, their anxiety levels are through the roof. One or two of the posters have their names/Instagram on them, so would people judge them? If they didn't judge them then, they'll definitely judge them if no one shows up.

They shouldn't be thinking about that though.

Because after what feels like an eternity, it's the first day of auditions.

Kit admits that the night before was mostly met with staring at the ceiling of the room, trying _not_ to listen to Anne's dad being an utter jerk. But that's another story.

As the two get ready for school, Kit notices Anne's rather heavy eyelids and how she's a lot quieter than usual. _So she didn't get a lot of sleep either_. The girl concludes. Not getting a lot of sleep will definitely come back to bite them in the butt during school, not to mention auditions.

"So, choir room after school, right?" Kit clarifies before they part their ways to their separate classes, being in different grades and all.

"Yeah. See you at lunch." Anne gives her cousin a nod and a hug before walking off, Kit waving goodbye.

The day passes, their nervousness not subsiding, and before they even realize it, the final school bell rings; a signal that the end of the regular school day is over. Kit, her last period being choir, waits for Anne to arrive.

"Hey Kit." The choir kid smiles as she sees a familiar pair of space buns walk into the door, greeting the teacher before sitting next to the former. She sees a flicker of worry in her eyes at the apparent empty room. Which she? It wouldn't matter, since their expressions are almost identical.

"There's always tomorrow." They hear the choir teacher as she pops her head into the doorway. The duo looks at the clock, and sure enough, time is up for them.

No one came.

Did they overestimate themselves again?


	2. More Audition Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo it's pika with the new chapter for ya! hope you enjoy

Yeah, what were they thinking? Of course no one would show up. No one showed up yesterday, so why would anyone show up today? Kit's choir teacher has always been an optimistic one, encouraging them that their band _will_ happen.

But seriously, Anne and Kit cannot see any light in this situation. They're just being realistic. It's not happening.

The most they do is give the teacher a smile, wave, and a nod as they exit the room. Though, the teacher can that they're a bit disappointed that all their excitement had been for nothing. Poor girls.

The two cousins try to keep their heads high as they exit the choir room. But the awkward silence, that had continued from before, soon becomes too much to handle.

"I'm sorry." Is what breaks the quiet. The sophomore looks up towards her upperclassman in confusion. "For dragging you into this. This was stupid, why'd I think we could start a band?"

"Hey." Kit makes sure Anne is listening before she continues. "At least we tried. If you weren't around, I'd never try _anything_ new." The girl in green finds herself smirking at this comment. "It's true. But I _am_ still disappointed no one found any interest."

"Yeah, same here. Do you wanna just....not show up tomorrow?" Kit takes a moment to think about it before ultimately deciding and voicing her opinion.

"We should still go. We've come this far, and that way we have an excuse to get away from your shit dad." A giggle is released from Anne's mouth, and a smile forms on her face at the thought of more time with her baby cousin, and less time with the pathetic excuse for a parent.

"Yeah sure. Guess you're right." The duo leaves the school, not expecting much for tomorrow, but their plans to still go set in stone.

However, neither of them realize another student walking in the direction they just came from. Said student knocks on the door before opening it and entering the almost empty room.

The choir teacher, who'd been supervising the cousins for their auditions, doesn't quite notice this student's presence at first, invested in her work.

"Um, excuse me?" Said teacher looks up, to see a student she hasn't exactly seen before. Must not be part of the music program in that case. "Um, I saw someone posted a poster for auditions...am I in the right place?"

Pity washes over her. For multiple reasons, but that is something that needs not be voiced or thought out. She _knew_ others would accept the call. Shame that neither of them had stuck around for her.

"Yes, this is the right place, but I'm afraid you're just a tad bit late. They just left." The student shakes their head, mentally cursing because they could've cut something out to make it on time. "But tomorrow's the last day, so you still have one more chance."

"Agh, I have practice tomorrow...."

"Well, I can guarantee that you'll be saving yourself a spot if you just show up. Think about it. And _maybe_ I can stall a little bit just so you have a little extra time." The teacher gives a little wink, and with that, the student thanks her and leaves with a smile on their face.

* * *

So to set the scene. Anne and Kit are seated on the risers, the latter leaning her head on the former's shoulder. Both are bored out of their minds. All while the choir teacher does some work at her desk. It stays like that for 10 minutes, and Anne is about ready to walk out.

Her day had already gone bad. With her dad yelling at her in the morning, simply because he decided to _be there_ for once. Then you have her history teacher, who decided today was a good day to hold a debate on opinions of Henry VIII's wives, in other words, her namesake. That did _not_ go well for her.

And _then_ her ex boyfriend Henry Tudor (again, another namesake) confronted her today, and she was _not_ happy to see his stupid, cheating, lying face. He's not even supposed to be at the school anymore, so that alone would've made her moody for the rest of the day, but pile it on the other things?

Just no.

But then out of nowhere, someone knocks at the door. Kit and Anne's eyes widen as they stare at each other in shock (the choir teacher totally not trying to hide a smirk).

"Come in." The door creaks open, and there's actually people there. Waiting to audition. _Wanting_ to audition. Just.....wow. Kit can only describe it as a miracle. "Oh my god hi....." The girl in pink greets, a bit of shyness taking over her.

"U-um, hey everyone..." The students walk in, say their hellos as well. There's definitely not a lot of kids here, only six, but that's enough for the band leaders. "Uh thank you for coming, uhh....oh my god there's people here." Anne mutters the last part to herself, but everyone hears it anyways, causing a couple of them to giggle quietly.

"Okay uh...why don't we just go down the line? Sorry, we've never done anything like this before." Scattered giggles are heard across the group once more. "When you go, I guess just tell us your name, and which instrument you're playing? And if you're waiting you can sit up here with us?"

Kit looks to Anne for her permission who nods without question.

"Let's get this party started."

After the first girl goes, Anne realizes this is not a 'party'. She recognizes two faces in the small crowd. The first, and the second to go, is _Jane Seymour_. While Anne was dating Henry (God knows how that happened), he cheated on her with Jane. After the entirety of the Henry drama, Jane immediately went to Anne asking for forgiveness.

She seemed really genuinely sorry at the time, so she was forgiven, but Anne can't help but constantly feel on edge whenever she's around. Call it a grudge if you will, but Anne's just taking precautions.

The other face she recognizes is none other than Catalina (Catherine) Aragon. Ugh, she hopes that Catalina won't even be an option when they review the auditions. God forbid it. See, back when Henry was still dating Catalina (he called her Catherine), he tried cheating on her with Anne.

Because Anne isn't a complete jackass, she told him no, until he breaks up with Catalina. Few days later, he lied, saying that he _did_ break up with her, so Anne went out with him. The misunderstanding caused a lot of rumors and gossip and arguing because Catalina is so stuck up that she won't bother to listen to hear her story.

'I know what I saw' is her excuse every time. It's annoying, and why Anne very much despises Catalina Aragon. The fact that she's one of the six auditioners doesn't make Anne feel any better.

But they're both here, so Anne has to let them audition. She'll just have to discuss things with Kit later.

* * *

Before they know it they're done The overall auditions being one for drums, three for guitar, and two for bass. Kit is the one addressing the group.

"Thanks again for coming! We honestly thought no one was gonna show up. But anyway, we'll talk about what we heard, and I suppose we'll post the members....somewhere. Just, everyone knows where to contact us, you have our Instas...so yeah. Thank you for showing up, and we'll see you-"

"Am I too late?!" When Anne turns her head towards the door, she expects to see another girl running in, which she is. But she doesn't expect her to be so...... _hot_?

She had clearly just come from a sports practice of some sort, her hair still wet from a shower. She's wearing a red shirt, with ripped jeans and high-tops, her backpack thrown over one shoulder. Her black hair pushed to one side, as much as her pixie cut can allow her to do so. Her dark skin looks smooth and soft as hell, and _god_ she has muscles?! Fucking muscles?!

That's not even the end of it, her stance makes her look extremely confident. Yet, her eyes make her seem soft, and Anne swears there's a bit of a sparkle in them. And the smile she currently has on her face, it's just- She can't even describe it.

And that's when Anne completely forgets how shitty her day has been, and decides that she now has a big old fat crush on this new girl, and she doesn't even know her name. That's Anne the disaster bisexual for you.

"No, you're not. You can still go." Anne admittedly speaks without thinking, but no one seems to object to staying a little bit longer.

"Oh thank god. I came yesterday, but you were already gone." The green girl mentally scolds herself for leaving yesterday, because if she stayed, she could've met this insanely hot girl earlier. "So um, how does this work?"

"Just tell us your name and instrument, then you can start." Kit explains, not ignoring Anne's current gay panic over the late girl. She might have to play a bit of matchmaker here.

"Alright then. My name's Anna Cleves, and I play drums."

"Oh shit! I put away the drums 'cause I was the only one. Lemme help." The other drummer bursts out, getting up to help Anna get the drums from the closet. If it were anyone else, Anne would be giving them her death stare, but they're only a freshman, so it's not like they know any better. So she just watches from a distance, totally not staring at Anna.

"Gay." Kit whispers to Anne as they set up, making Anne playfully shove her cousin. 

"Shut up."

"I'm not wrong though."

"Hey, would you mind if someone played with me? I just feel a bit awkward if I'm playing without a melody." Anna asks. _Um yeah, go ahead, do whatever you want, you're really hot by the way, I'm like really attracted to you right now._ Is what Anne thinks.

"Sure." Is what Anne says. Of all things, just a one word answer. What is this girl doing to her? Oh right, she's in full gay panic mode, that's what.

Two students volunteer two play improv, and Anne pays close attention to Anna.....'s playing. She has to give props two those two students for coming up with something (even if it isn't the best playing) but her mind is just _Anna. Anna. Anna._

God she's a mess. And she knows it.

But this may just be the best day ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> insanity_times_ten should be writing the next chapters, so look out for that!


	3. Yes, Anne can read

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey! it’s jo here with the new chapter, yippee skippy!

“So,” Anne says the next day, setting her lunch bag down on the table.

“So?” Kit replies.

“We need to go over the auditions. I wrote some notes down for everyone if we wanna take a look at those.”

“Not at lunch,” Kit whines. “Can’t we do it at home?”

“I guess,” Anne sighs. Can’t win them all.

“Plus, look who’s coming up behind you,” Kit says, waving at whoever it is.

Anne turns around, then quickly turns back to look at Kit. “Fuck,” is all she says.

“You’re in trouble,” Kit sings. Anne buries her face in her hands.

“Hey guys,” Anna greets the two. “Mind if I sit here? My teammates are being little pricks today.”

“We’ve got two empty seats, you can take your pick,” Kit replies.

Meanwhile, all Anne can think is  _ Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit _ and so on. Classic.

“So, Anna, what sports do you play?” Kit asks, saving Anne from having to make conversation.

“Oh, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, basketball…” Anna lists, counting them on her fingers.

“So all the sports?” Anne asks. “You seem like you’d be into sports. Not that you don’t seem smart or anything like that, you just-” Anne stops. “I’ll shut up now.”

“Nah, not all the sports. I got into a tussle with another girl at a softball game and it may or may not have gotten brutal…. Needless to say, I’m no longer welcome on the softball team.” Anna stops to think. “And I don’t run. Well, I do run but I don’t do sports that are just running, you get me?”

The lunch bell rings. Anne gets up and sprints to her Intro to Lit class. Yeah, she reads.

“Okay, so, who do we want to start with?” Anne asks from her spot on Kit’s bed.

“Let’s look at Bessie first,” Kit decides.

“Alright, uh… Judging from my notes she was a solid 5/10.”

“Let’s not consider anyone under a 7 this time around. We can be picky, right?”

“Totally. On to the guitar auditions-”

“We’ve got another bassist to look at. What do you have for Catalina?” Kit asks.

“Um, good stage presence, she was nice to the others, I rated her playing at an 8,” Anne rattles off.

“So she’s in?”

“No.” Anne crosses her arms.

“Anne, she’s the better option!” Kit argues. “Can’t you just, like, forgive and forget?”

“There’s no fucking way.” 

“Why not?”

“I can’t stand her.”

“Can’t you at least  _ try  _ to get along?” Kit asks.

Anne sighs. “I guess so. Put her on the list.”

“Great!  _ Now  _ we can look at the guitar auditions.”

They go back and forth for the better part of an hour on who to pick as their second guitarist, finally settling on Jane. Ugh, Jane Seymour. Their decision on who their drummer is to be is made much faster, and you guessed it, it’s Anna Cleves. The one and only. 

“So… that’s it, then?” Kit asks.

“Unless you’re thinking of something I’m not.”

“Great!” Kit claps her hands. “Now we make the insta post. I’ll put it on my account and then you can put it on your story, sound good?” Anne nods, thankful that Kit is taking charge. 

About five minutes later, the post is up and shared to Anne’s story. Kit puts her phone aside. 

“So, I noticed something yesterday…” Kit says.

“Oh, christ,” Anne mutters.

“What do you think of Anna? Like, as a person?”

“Oh, uh…” Anne’s eyes search the room. “She’s nice. I’d like to get to know her better.”

“Yeah, I know you wanna ‘get to know’ her,” Kit replies, making a suggestive gesture.

“Oh, shut up!” Anne exclaims. “Though that wouldn’t be entirely unwelcome…” she adds under her breath.

“Come on. Be straight for like .02 seconds. What do you think of her?”

“I told you, she’s nice.”

“That’s all?” Kit prompts, giving Anne a look that says “stop being such a disaster.”

Anne sighs. “Look, it’s not  _ my  _ fault her muscles distracted me!”

“Kinda is,” Kit says with a shrug.

“Okay, look, if you’re gonna be mean, I’m gonna leave.”

“Where’re you gonna go?” Kit asks. “Cause last time I checked, it was like 30 degrees outside.”

“I own a car?” Anne says in a tone that says “are you joking or are you seriously this dumb”.

“Yeah, but where’re you going?”

Anne thinks for a second. “The library.”

Kit nearly dies laughing. “You?” she wheezes. “My cousin, Anne Boleyn, at the library? That’s the best joke I’ve heard all day!”

“For your information, I do actually read.”

“Yeah, picture books,” Kit teases.

“No, I read big-person books,” Anne argues. 

“Name one you’ve read in the past three months.”

Anne thinks for a minute. “ _ The Fault in Our Stars _ .”

“Shit,” Kit curses under her breath. “I actually liked that one.”

“Yeah, and I recommended it to you.” Anne sticks out her tongue.

Kit makes a face. “Okay, re-routing the conversation here, nincompoop.”

“Proceed.”

“Do you have a crush on Anna?” Kit asks pointedly.

“No,” Anne answers in a rush.

“Okay…” Kit says, not believing that for a second. But she’ll keep her thoughts to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anne is *quite* the disaster, no?


	4. Boys and band drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls discuss a time and place for their first rehearsal at lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey! We didn’t abandon this fic, my brain just threw all my motivation out the window halfway through writing this. All is well!

“So. Anne,” Jane says at lunch, stabbing a fork into her salad. “When’s our first rehearsal?”

Anne thinks for a bit. “We could do it tomorrow,” she suggests.

Catalina shrugs. “Works for me.” Anne rolls her eyes. “What was that for?”

“You’re being so… agreeable! We’ve never agreed on a single thing!”

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t be nice to you,” Catalina replies.

“Because you’ve never been nice to me before!”

“People can change, Anne,” Anna interjects. Anne opens her mouth like she is about to say something, but decides against it.

“ _ Where _ are we going to rehearse, Annie?” Kit asks.

“Choir room. There. Solved it.” She drops her spoon in a faux mic drop.

Kit shrugs. “Already asked Ms. Alberts. She said no.”

“Band room?” Anne asks. Jane shakes her head no. “My mom won’t let us… Jane? Can we practice at your place?”

Jane shrugs. “I live in an apartment. Not gonna work.”

“Catalina?”

“My parents won’t let us. Not tomorrow, at least. My mom’s having a Bible study.” Catalina looks around. “Sorry,” she adds quickly.

Anne huffs. “Anna?”

“I’ll check with my folks. We can practice in the shed if all else fails.”

“Thank god,” Anne sighs.

“Anne, when are we-” The bell rings, cutting Jane off. Anne grabs her bag and sprints up the stairs to her French class. 

Later, when the final bell rings, Anne is the first to get to the parking lot. She starts her car to warm it up and sits for about fifteen minutes before Kit climbs into the passenger seat, red-faced and out of breath.

“There you are!” Anne exclaims. “I was getting worried. Where were you?”

“Oh, I was just telling Alison about a dream I had last night,” Kit says.

“Uh-huh, sure you were. You were with Thomas, weren’t you?”

Kit blushes. “N-no…” Anne gives her a look. “Okay, maybe I was.”

Anne sighs and puts the car in reverse. The parking lot is empty now. “Look, Kit, you know how I feel about Thomas.”

“Yeah, but he’s just so nice, and-”

“Kit. Listen,” Anne interrupts. “I know you think Thomas is nice, but I know his friends. Please, just stop seeing him.”

“Annie,” Kit whines, “he’s good to me! And it’s not like we  _ do _ anything, anyway.”

“Okay. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The rest of the ride is silent. When they arrive home, Anne goes up the stairs and pulls out her phone.

**disasterbi** hey did u find out if we can practice at ur house

**imfuckingbuff** ye my parents said we could use the basement or garage

**disasterbi** lit

Anne frowns. That’s no way to end a conversation.

**disasterbi** thx for finding out

**imfuckingbuff** np

She sighs. That’s at least a  _ little  _ better. She goes downstairs, just to examine the terrain. As she creeps down the stairs, Anne hears something sizzling in the kitchen.

“Mom?” she calls.

Anne’s mom, Liz, smiles. “Hey, kiddo. What’s up?”

“Not much. What’s for dinner?” Anne asks, still standing in the doorway.

“I’m honestly not sure yet, something with hamburger,” she replies, gesturing to the skillet on the stove. “Maybe lasagna? Get in here, you can help me.”

“No, thanks. I’ve got a government test tomorrow.”

Liz’s smile fades a bit. “Oh, okay. Gonna go study?”

“Yeah. You can come up in a bit and quiz me if you want to.”

“If your dad’s not home by then. Got any plans for tomorrow? I was thinking I could take you and Kit out for the evening, since he’s gonna be on a business trip.” Liz’s speech speeds up as she’s talking.

“Oh, I was actually coming down here to ask if Kit and I can go over to my friend’s house tomorrow for band practice.”

Liz nods. “Yeah, okay. Maybe the three of us can go out after? Dinner and a movie?”

“My schedule’s free,” Anne says with a wink, turning to go upstairs.

The next day, Anne and Kit stop at home to grab a snack and their equipment before heading to Anna’s house. The ride is long and silent, both girls still recovering from the argument they’d had in the car just the day before. Anne pulls into Anna’s driveway and pops the trunk. Kit grabs her keyboard and stand, and Anne grabs her guitar bag and amp.

“Yo, Anne!” Anna calls as the two walk into the garage. “Glad you could make it!”

Catalina checks her watch. “You’re half an hour late. You set this time.  _ And  _ you’re the band leader. This doesn’t look good for your reputation.”

Anne walks over to where the others are standing and puts down her stuff. “Well, you know what? I’m the band leader. Y’all can’t start without me. And besides, it doesn’t look like you’ve done anything to set up yet.”

“Sounds like it’s that time of the month,” Catalina mutters.

Anne stares her down. “You wanna say that again?”

“Guys,” Anna steps in. “Let’s just practice, huh? My parents say we have to actually work if we’re gonna practice here.”

Anne and Catalina glare at each other before going to set up and plug in their equipment. Jane and Kitty join them, and Anna leans against the wall, twirling a drumstick.

“Anna, what’re your parents’ names?” Kit asks.

“My mom’s name is Maria, my dad’s John, and I’ve got three siblings, Amalia, Sybil, and William,” Anna replies.

“Oh, yeah, I know Lia. I guess I just didn’t know you guys were sisters.” Anna nods in reply

Anne strums a chord on her guitar. “Lit. Alright, let’s just kinda improv if that’s okay for today?” She looks at her bandmates. “I’ll take your silence as agreement, I guess,” she says. “Anna?”

Anna pushes herself off of the wall. “Yeah?”

“Get over here and give us a beat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty pika is gonna see y’all with the next chapter sometime! hope you enjoyed, comments and kudos are appreciated!


	5. Rehearsals are a mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The band has their first and second rehearsals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i'm laughing as i'm skimming through this and playing one scene in my head hehe

"One. Two. Three. Four." Anne cues them in, and the band starts playing all at once....which doesn't work out so well for them, as they all start playing in different keys. "Ok, hold up."

"Do you have _any_ idea what you're doing?" Catalina comments, unprompted and almost automatic. Just the very thought of her being in her band is enough to annoy her. For the sake of music, she's good, but _ugh_. 

"Um, I'm sorry, _who_ decided to audition for my band, and _who_ decided to let you in it?" Anne smirks when no reply is said. "You know, you're lucky I haven't kicked you out already."

"Anne." The girl in space buns turns her head towards her younger cousin, who gives her a look. Anne just rolls her eyes, which could be taken the wrong way considering their spat yesterday. "Okay, as I am technically the other leader here, let's try again. We'll start playing one at a time, _I'll_ cue you in."

The older of the cousins keeps her mouth shut. Despite not being completely fond of listening to her underclassman, she respects that she _is_ the other leader of the band, and that she can handle that responsibility as well.

Plus, this way they can practice with minimal argument.

Anna is the one who starts, giving everyone a tempo. Next is Anne, for lead guitar and basic melody. Then Jane--rhythm guitar. Then Lina. And finally, Kit works herself into the currently playing tune.

The music is really good for improv, albeit the one or two mishaps. The band ends on a chord, looks of astonishment appearing on each of the members' faces. First rehearsal and they've already managed to create some song sounding music.

"Hey we're pretty good." When Anne compliments everyone, they smile reassuringly. Well, except one, but who's surprised at this point.

"Shouldn't we be writing _actual_ songs?" To anyone else, Catalina's question is a genuine one--this time it is. But considering the distinct rivalry between the two, Anne takes it the other way.

"That will come in time. I wanted to see how we sounded together, but it seems _someone_ can't just shut up and listen for once." Catalina's face turns into a scowl.

"Well it _was_ a genuine and respectful question, but it seems someone's too hot-headed to understand that! And if I didn't _listen_ , we wouldn't have sounded as good as we just did!" The other three members don't want another argument to break out, especially considering how they get during the school day, but all they can really do is act as bystanders.

"Well I'm _so sorry_ for misunderstanding! Hey, you know who else has done that? That's right, you!"

"Excuse me?!"

"GOD, you're too stuck up to hear my side of the story! _I_ heard _you_ out just now, but you always come up with some half-assed excuse! 'I know what I saw, blah blah blah', it's the same shit every single fucking time!"

" _I_ wasn't the one who cheated on my boyfriend at the time! You knew we were dating! What is wrong with you?!"

"If you're so _pissed off_ , at me specifically, then why don't you just quit the band, and go back to your own perfect little life in your perfect little bubble?!"

"SHUT UP!" The new voice makes the intense bantering cease. Said voice turns out to be the only other senior there, Anna, who nods her head towards a noticeably tense Jane and Kit.

"We get it, you have issues with each other. But Catalina's in this band for keeps, and your arguing is making everyone uncomfortable so you need to get your act together." Jane is the one who continues, surprisingly, as she's been pretty quiet all rehearsal. But just after she says that, she goes back to being silent, and Kit is who makes a decision.

"I know we've barely done anything so far, but we need to take a break. Anne, step outside and cool off."

"But-"

"Go." The other leader of the band (though based on this rehearsal, it doesn't really seem like it) exits the garage with a huff, sending a glare in Aragon's direction. "Anna, can you go check on her?" Anna nods, and follows after Anne.

She's not going to lie, Kit knows damn well about Anne's crush. And normally she wouldn't torture her cousin this early on, but seeing as she's still wary about Jane, just had an argument with Catalina, and herself, Anna's the best choice right now.

Anna walks over to where Anne is seated on the sidewalk, and plops down next to her. Anne is curled up in a ball, head turned away and seemingly staring at nothing.

"Hey." The drummer starts, only to get a grunt from the lead guitarist. A few seconds of silence pass before Anna tries again. "Sorry for yelling...sounds like you have a lot on your plate." Though she can't see it, Anne rolls her eyes before responding officially.

"That's an understatement." She states with a scoff. "And I'm gonna hate saying this, but Jane's right. As much as I hate Catalina, we need her in the band."

"What...do you have against them?" Anna asks with caution. She knows the gist of the story, but if they're going to get anything done with this band, they need to sort this shit out.

"Pff. You haven't heard? Henry lied to me saying he was single but he wasn't. Catalina won't let me talk about it. Then Henry cheated on me with Jane, but she apologized after. She's okay I guess but you never know. And then Kit..." Anne trails off. 

"What about her?"

"I just-" Anne hesitates. For one, she's just met Anna. Though, she did get an immediate crush so that's out. Another, Kit's backstory isn't necessarily one she should be sharing without her permission.. But if she doesn't say anything, then Anna might go up and ask her herself, and that's not that great of an option either. "We got into an argument because she keeps hanging out with this one kid who's extremely sketchy."

"Oh." Anna decides not to press further into that topic, as it seems like a more personal matter for the cousins. "Well, thanks for telling me." Anna casually wraps her arm around Anne's shoulders. "Do you think you're okay enough to not slice Catalina's throat off right now?"

The band leader lets out a laugh. As emphasized before, she's just met this girl, but god, she falls for her even more with every minute they spend together. 

"Yeah, let's go." Anna gets up first, offering a hand out to Anne. The two make their way back inside the garage. "Hey Anna?" The red girl hums in response. "Thanks for checking in on me."

"What are friends for?" Friends. Agh. If only you knew... 

Anne doesn't realize that the two of them are still holding hands until the athlete squeezes her hand and lets go with lingering fingers. What.

What was that?

* * *

Next rehearsal isn't much better.

Well to clarify, they actually get more done this time. Angry glares are sent across the room between Catalina and Anne, but no full out arguments. They've started to write some bits and pieces of different songs and honestly, it's really good.

The negative part is the ever so increasing gay panic that Anne has to endure. Anne can feel her crush's eyes on her since she's standing in front of her, but for what reason, she doesn't know. And that drives her crazy.

The band's 'flow' (if you can call it that) is interrupted when Kit's phone starts ringing. The sophomore's face turns into a frown when she sees the caller id, but she doesn't let anyone else see.

"I need to take this. Break?" Anne nods and as Kit exits the garage for some privacy with the caller, the other four sort of split into pairs. Clearly Anne and Catalina were not going to associate themselves with each other unless absolutely necessary. So this ends up being Catalina and Jane,

And Anne and Anna. Perfect situation for a disaster gay. The guitarist heads over to the drummer, the latter standing up and leaning against the wall closest to her.

"Hey."

"Hey, your hand looks a little heavy. Can I hold it for you?" Anne's eyes widen at the pickup line. Is Anna...flirting with her? No, she's definitely flirting with her, Anne isn't dense. _Why_ is she flirting with her is the question. 

Or is Anne just overthinking this and getting her hopes up when she's just being friendly?

"I- uh..." The girl in green stammers out. _Say something you gay idiot!_ "Um, yea sure, if you want." Anne mentally scolds herself for such a bad response. She's totally gonna impress her with her current communication skills.

Meanwhile, Anna smirks, casually reaching out and actually grabbing the shorter girl's hand. She swings and twirls their hands back and forth in a completely laid-back manner as she continues ~~flirting~~ the conversation.

"You know, you kind of remind me of a camera." The girl in space buns tilts her head in confusion, to which the girl with a pixie cut smiles sweetly and finished the pick up line. "I smile every time I look at you."

Anne's flustered once again, stammering as she attempts to come up with a good response. Key word: attempts. Attempts in which she ends up sputtering out something completely random.

"Your smile is so bright I bet it can make the flowers bloom." If Anne was a vine, she'd be that one where everybody [facepalms](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcILO9rkxnU). She's also that one where they're on a cliff or something and the guy just says '[okay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0EouJD9SoA)'. Completely random thought, but she's not wrong. "Ah, uh, sorry."

"You're fine. But..." The girl in green braces for another pick up line, gently biting her tongue to prevent herself from saying anything. "Since you seem to have trouble with words right now... I heard kissing is the language of love." Anna leans in slightly, Anne completely freezing up because god, this really hot girl's face is really close to her face. "You wanna have a conver-"

"Okay I'm done!" Kit skips back into the garage and to her station. Anne has mixed feelings about the interruption, but the most prominent one being: _Thank you for saving me from humiliation_. "Wanna keep going now?"

"Yeah, let's do it!"

Later, as Anne and Kit drive home, the two cousins make small conversation--mostly about school and the band, to avoid another argument regarding you-know-who. Upon entering their shared house, the girls are relieved to see Anne's father is still on his business trip.

"Hey girls! How was rehearsal?" The students walk into the kitchen to greet Anne's mom, answering as they enter.

"Pretty good, we got more done this ti-"

"Anne's doing her Blushy-Face." The older of the cousins swats her hand at the younger. Apparently, Kit and her mom have this ability to tell whether she's really into someone or not. Or, she's just obvious as hell (she really hopes it's not the latter, especially since she'll be seeing Anna a lot more now). "Female edition."

"Oh? Is that so?" Anne averts her gaze from her mother, a sure sign that she's correct. "Well, can't have Anne being a hopeless mess now can we? You know how she gets." Where Kit proudly nods, Anne rolls her eyes. "So, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to tell me who she is?"

See, with Anne's mom, she's the type who gives you weird but knowing looks whenever you're spending time with your crush. You know, the shipper. And if it gets really bad, she's one to go through an entire scheme to get you together (assuming Kit's attempts have failed).

"I'd rather stand here, but I don't have a choice."

"No you don't!" Kit exclaims as she bumps hips with her upperclassman. This is going to be one dinner she never be able to forget. And in this case, she doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo hope u enjoyed! i'm posting a chatfic based on this au, and there'll be s l i g h t l y more development on cleveleyn there  
> *says this as i look at our notes and what's happening next chapter*  
> so yea


	6. It's Party Time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: alcohol, teenage drinking, basically tw's for classic high school parties  
> and this is the chapter with smut in it so if u do not want to read it, i marked the start and end with this  
> * * *  
> read as u will (first time posting smut on this account lol)
> 
> now go read the chapter lol

You know what would make Anne's situation even worse? A party. Not a birthday party or graduation party, oh no. One of those classic high school parties you see in movies and musicals, where everyone gets drunk and shit. Think like 'Big Fun' or 'Whose House is This?' or 'Halloween'. Or 'The One Thing You Can't Replace' by John Mulaney.

You get the idea.

Clearly the band itself wasn't invited, since it's still in the process of being made. Plus, they would've had to have at least _one_ concert for people to start doing stuff like that.

But somehow everyone in the band is invited on an individual scale. Despite the rumors, Anne is still significantly popular based on personality alone. Kit is one of the cheerleaders, and Anna plays sports, so no surprise in their invitations either.

Jane is invited through her brother, Thomas Seymour, to her dismay. But, since the others are going, they're able to coax her into accepting said invitation. Catalina's invite is a bit of a mystery, as it had fallen out of her locker when she opened it. Though parties aren't normally her thing, she keeps the piece of paper anyway.

After all, this particular party is one that happens every year. Supposedly invite only, but as these things go, some people manage to sneak in anyway. It's still really hard to get in though.

It's lunchtime on Friday--the day of the party to be exact. The band has accustomed to eating lunch together at this point, despite the complaints from both Catalina and Anne.

"So. Party's today." Kit states, as if it isn't already one each of the girls' minds. "You wanna go in together?"

"I'd love to, but I have to go with my brother and his girlfriend." Jane cringes at the thought of spending time with her brother, but she can always ditch him at the party. Plus, seeing his girlfriend wouldn't be too bad... "I'll just see you there."

"Same here. Not about her brother, but my parents will want every detail on whatever excuse I come up with. So I'll be stalled a lot longer than I want to be." Kit nods at Lina's claim, though she can't tell if it's just an excuse to not be in the same car as Anne.

"Eh, that's fine. Can I catch a ride with you girls?" Immediately Anne accepts. It'd be rude to decline after Kit had just made an offer, not to mention her current and constant state of gay panic that muddles with her common sense and any ability to function properly. "Sweet."

And then the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch, and time for the band to go to their separate classes.

**redhot:** can u pick me up at 8?

**babybo:** yea sounds good

**redhot:** cya later baby ;)

Of course, this would cause Anne a very common reaction--and apparently a very obvious one.

"Anne! Stop being gay and help me pick an outfit!" Anne rolls her eyes, as she'd much rather be sitting with her gay thoughts. "It's almost time to go, hurry up!" Kit practically whines like a toddler, though she still has that little child within her personality.

"Alright alright."

Kit ends up picking one of her more cute dresses. 'More cute' as in she wouldn't normally wear it to school. Her hair is still up in her normal ponytail, but she's added/switched out some hair pins and accessories. She's taken out her earrings for some reason, and her makeup is semi-neutral, if not for the lip gloss.

Anne is wearing a black skirt that ends just above her knees, along with a green tank top/crop top type blouse. Accessory wise, she's wearing layered necklaces along with a small ring. She's decided to change her hair up a bit, taking out her space buns and parting her hair to one side. Anne quickly puts on her red lipstick before following her cousin out to the car.

In a few minutes, the duo pulls up to Anna's house. Said is quick to say goodbye to whoever's in the house, and walk over to the car.

Anna's wearing black ripped jeans with a chain hooked into the loops and a black t-shirt with some writing on it, though it's hard to tell what it says. She's also wearing a red leather jacket, making her look even more badass than she does during the school day.

All Anne can think is: Holy fuck she's so hot.

But who's surprised at this point?

Once Anna slides into the backseat, and greetings and thanks are passed around, the girl in green pulls out of the driveway and starts towards the location of the party. She decides to park a _little_ ways away from the specified house, solely because it's a high school party specifically.

The three walk into the party and what did they expect? (A rhetorical question by the way) It's absolute chaos in here, the students almost like a band of animals. Though, half of them were _already_ drunk, so it's bound to happen.

The following events are admittedly a tiny bit fuzzy. Anne remembers the three of them being pulled away from each other by their separate groups of friends. And drinking. She isn't completely drunk though, probably just a little bit tipsy. 

But still, it's enough to mess with her memory, just a little bit. What she knows for sure, is that now she's standing in the upstairs hallway, leaning against the wall, and except for listening to the music, she isn't really doing anything. 

She wants to go find the other members of the band, well except Catalina for sure, and Jane _maybe_. She hasn't seen anyone, and her friends have _definitely_ moved on to other activities. So, Anne's just going to stand here like a wallflower, alone with her gay thoughts about-

"Hey Anne." Speak of the devil. Anna walks over to the slightly shorter girl, and leans on the bit of wall right next to her. "I didn't get a chance to say this earlier, but you look _really_ nice. Your hair looks really cute like that too. You should wear it down more often." 

"Th-thanks." Anne tries her best to ignore the blush creeping onto her cheeks, but it's obvious from the way Anna smiles that it's there. "You look really _really_ ho-nice too." She changes her phrasing mid-sentence, her reasoning that she doesn't want to come on too strong.

Though knowing Anna, it wouldn't be a problem to her if she did anyway. They stand there for about a minute until Anna pushes herself off of the wall and moves so that she's almost pinning Anne to the wall.

"You know, I was thinking..." Anne gulps--metaphorically. "You're really good at guitar." Anna leans in to whisper into her ear. "I wonder was else those fingers can do." Anne presses a kiss to Anna's neck.

"Why don't I show you?"

Wait what? Where in the entire human world did Anne get this confidence? And why didn't she get it earlier? What is about to happen?

The way Anna looks at her with lustful eyes answers that question. 

She's about to find out.

* * *

Anna lunges forward, kissing Anne possessively and fully pressing her against the wall in the same manner. Anne opens her mouth, Anna taking that invitation to slip her tongue inside. A quiet moan escapes the shorter girl's mouth, which wouldn't normally be heard if not for their current distance.

Or, the lack thereof.

When the two finally pull away, Anna grabs Anne's wrist, quickly looking through the doors to find an empty room. No such luck.

"No one's at my house." Anne suggests. "If you wanna get outta here." The girl in red smiles very mischievously, pulling Anne to the nearest exit _very_ impatiently. The drive home takes about three minutes but to the girls feels like forever.

Upon arrival, Anne fumbles with her keys as she hurries to get the door open. Once that's done, Anna kisses the other girl feverishly, leading them inside the house. Anne drags the taller girl up the stairs and into her room, pushing her inside.

Anne shuts the door, and when she looks back at Anna, the latter is shirtless, and currently in the process of trying to unbutton her jeans. This time it's Anne's turn to lunge forward, connecting their lips as her hands lower to help Anna strip.

When Anne pulls away, she finds her crush completely naked. The difference in amount of clothing each of them are wearing is one Anna will not tolerate. 

Anna pushes Anne onto the bed, quickly making waste of Anne's top and skirt, and finding what's under a pleasant surprise.

"Did you...wear lingerie...for me?" Anne's blushing and resistance to look at the girl on top of her gives Anna her answer. This makes her smirk grow wider, knowing that the girl under her was anticipating this.

Anna guides the two of them so that Anne is laying a bit more comfortably. The taller girl kisses Anne once again, eager that she's finally able to be with her in this way. (Totally not not-confessing, which would probably have been a better choice, but it's too late now)

The pixie-cut girl, feeling just a bit possessive, trails down to Anne's neck, leaving hickeys on her collarbone. If she forgets to cover them up, she wants people to know what she's done (even if her identity would remain unknown)

"Is this okay?" Anna asks, her hands reaching behind to unclip Anne's bra. Anne, who's very turned on and very impatient, nods her head furiously.

"Yes! Please!" The girl on top removes Anne's bra, and her panties while she's at it. "Annaaa..." Anne whines as the other toys with breasts and cups her center at the same time. All common sense that says 'don't have sex with your crush because you haven't confessed yet' is thrown out the window.

A rather loud moan escapes Anne's lips as Anna slips a finger inside of her. Anna groans herself when she feels how wet Anne is, and slips in another finger.

"You're so wet for me." Anne can only moan in response, prompting Anna to pump a little faster. "Ugh, you're so hot." Anne starts to buck her hips in sync with Anna's thrusts, trying to get the most friction. "Do you want me to make you cum?"

"Please! Please fuck me harder!"

"Someone's desperate." Anna jokingly comments as she starts to curl her fingers, searching for Anne's g-spot. The former knows she's found it when the latter cries out in pleasure. "There?"

"Yes! Yes! Please!" Anna slips in a third finger and is practically ramming her fingers into Anne's g-spot at this point. "Ah! Anna i'm gonna-" With that, Anne twitches slightly as she orgasms. "Anna...."

The taller girl slows her fingers down before completely removing them and sucking them clean.

"How about you return the favor, hm?" With as much strength as she can, Anne flips the two of them so that she's now the one on top.

"With pleasure." Anne wastes no time in lowering herself down to Anna's center. She's surprised to see how wet her crush has become. She did that? Well of course, she's Anne Boleyn after all.

Anne swipes her tongue, moaning at both her taste and the sound she makes when she does so. But mostly her taste. Anne licks through Anna's folds before circling her clit and sucking on it. Anna bucks her hips upward, enjoying the sensation, but it's not enough.

"Inside me please." Anne slows down, as if she's thinking, but she knows she's going to do it anyway. She did tell her earlier that she'd show her what her very talented fingers could do.

And so Anne slips in two fingers while continuing to eat her out. Because her journey had already begun, it doesn't take long for Anna to be sent over the edge. But Anne doesn't slow her pace, honestly because she doesn't want it to end.

"Anne! Oh my fucking god!" Anne finds Anna's g-spot with no problem, and sends the latter to her second orgasm. "Oh my god that was so good!" Anne hums in response as she removes herself from Anna's center and sucks her fingers clean.

Too tired to do anything else, the shorter girl gives one final kiss, ~~wishing the meaning could go beyond sex,~~ and pulls the covers over both of them before cuddling into Anna's warm body. Anna protectively wraps her arms around Anne and presses a small kiss to her crown.

The two immediately fall asleep.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Anne wakes up with a headache. Surprisingly, she wakes up in someone else's arms. Someone's muscular arms. Someone's muscular arms that makes Anne realize she's in the same bed as none other than Anna Cleves.

An amendment to the previous statement: _naked_ and in the same bed as a very _naked_ Anna Cleves.

To which one can make the obvious assumption that they had hooked up the night before. Anne remembers only being tipsy, so she can recall the night's events very clearly. But what about Anna? Was she drunk, making this nothing but a one night stand? Or was she not, and there was something more to her wanting to hook up?

Anne tilts her head slightly to look at Anna's face....only to find that she's being stared at.

"Oh, you're awake now. I didn't want to move, 'cause you just looked so peaceful." Anne has a million things she wants to say right now. But as always, her brain defaults to saying something completely stupid and/or obvious.

"Did we hook up?" Thankfully, before she can react, Anne catches herself and adds on. "Shit, sorry, that's probably really obvious...." There's a moment of silence that Anne doesn't know how to fill.

"I like you." Anne's green eyes widen with shock. "As in I have feelings for you, and I'd like you to be my girlfriend." With Anna's confession, the current little spoon can't process the brainpower required to form actual sentence.

So she does the next best thing and kisses her.

Without the rush of sex filling her mind, Anne's able to focus on the softness of Anna's lips, and there's a sort of sweetness to it--completely unrelated to the events from last night. The cliche thing to say is that it's unlike anything she's ever imagined. But it's the right thing to say.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

"Anne Boleyn why did you ditch me at the party?!?" The yelling from Kit spurs the two into action--both of them picking up their clothes and putting them on.

"You're gonna have to climb out the window." Judging by Anna's face, she hasn't sneaked out of a window before. "I'll help you. You just gotta get onto the tree, and you can climb down."

"Well, first time for everything." Once fully dressed, Anne opens the window and helps Anna fit herself through. The former guides the athlete through the steps she takes when she's sneaking out. 

Which quite honestly, is almost every single day.

Once safely on the ground, Anna blows a kiss towards Anne (the girl in green returning the favor) before jogging off. _One way to start a morning_. Anne thinks to herself as she closes her window and exits her room.

After receiving a rant and lecture from Kit about her ditching her baby cousin at the party and how she spent an hour trying to find someone sober enough to take her home, Anne takes out her phone and shoots a text towards a very special someone.

**babybo:** so that was smthn

**redhot** **:** yea

**babybo:** soooo what now?

**redhot:** well, let's talk

**redhot:** what happens now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm cringing but i'm still posting okie  
> jo will see yall with ze next chapter


	7. Shit gets thrown at the fan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo!  
> Quick tw for physical assault, threats of violence, and toxic relationships  
> whoopsies...

On Monday at school, Kit meets Thomas in their usual spot. She waits for about five minutes before she sees him come around the corner.

She runs over to meet him. “Hey, baby, how was your weekend?” she asks.

Thomas immediately brushes off her question. “You didn’t return any of my calls,” he says. “Where were you?”

“Oh, sorry, I was at that party on Friday night. And I was busy on Saturday and Sunday.” Kit smiles. “What about you, what’d you do over the weekend?”

“That party… were there any guys there?” Thomas questions. When Kit nods, he presses further. “You didn’t  _ talk  _ to any of them, did you?” 

“I mean, I talked to a couple of-”

“You cheated, didn’t you? You got drunk and you cheated, I know it.” He pushes her up against the lockers, causing her to scream. He lowered his voice. “You know what happens to cheaters?”

Before Kit could answer, Anna, Jane, and another girl Kit vaguely recognized from the party come out of nowhere. Anna tackles Thomas to the ground, and Jane and the other girl pull Kit into the bathroom.

“Kit? Kit, are you hurt?” Jane asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine. No big deal,” Kit replies.

“You should go home,” the mystery girl adds.

“Oh, yeah, this is Cathy, my… brother’s… girlfriend,” Jane introduces her.

“I can’t go home,” Kit says, disregarding the last statement. “My uncle might come home early… it wouldn’t turn out well.”

“There’s really 3 options here,” Cathy begins. “One, you stay at school and do nothing. Thomas is free to harass you as he wishes. Two, you stay here but talk to someone, Cromwell or Hansen or Schuyler. One of them could actually do something about this. Three, you go home for the day. I don’t know about your uncle, but the way you talked, he’s not a good guy. It’s your choice.”

Kit thinks about it. “I’ll talk to Ms. Schuyler during my study hall.”

“Good plan,” Cathy replies. “Do you want us to walk you to class?”

Kit shakes her head. “I’ll be fine.”

Jane raises her eyebrows. “You sure? Anne’s gonna give me hell if she catches wind of this and I didn’t help.”

“I’ll tell her you offered.” She turns to Cathy. “Thanks for your help.”

With that, Kit leaves the bathroom and goes the long way to her English class to avoid the crowd.

Later in the day, Kit gets to the lunch table a split second ahead of everyone else. Just as she sits down, the rest of the band, save for Anna, all but sprints towards her.

“Jesus, guys, what’s the big deal?” Kit asks.

Anne gives her a strange look. “You just got threatened by your asshat boyfriend…”

Lina takes Kit’s hand. “ _ Mija _ , is this the first time it’s happened?” Kit purses her lips, then shakes her head no. Lina pulls her into a hug. “We’ll help you get away from him.”

Kit pulls away. “I can’t. Thank you so much, but I just need to fix it myself.”

Lina nods. “If that’s what you think-”

“Kit, if you get caught up with him again, he could potentially kill you,” Anne interrupts.

“Anne, woah, calm down,” Lina says. “Yes, he might take some drastic actions, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’ll kill her.”

“I wouldn’t trust him farther than I could throw him,” Jane pipes up.

Anne shakes her head in resignation. “Where’s Anna?” she asks, changing the subject.

“Cromwell’s office, last I heard,” Lina replies. “She tackled Thomas in the hall, apparently got him pretty good as well.”

“Isn’t your first class in the basement?” Anne asks.

“Yeah. Word gets around. Jane, I bet you didn’t know I have graphic design with  _ Cathy _ .”

Jane’s face turns a lovely shade of red. “You- She- I-” she sputtered.

“Care to tell us anything?” Anne presses. Kit just smiles, grateful for a distraction from the Thomas drama.

Jane suddenly finds her soup very interesting. “No…”

“Guys!”

Anne turns her head to see none other than Bessie Blount, the school’s biggest gossip, running toward their table at a full sprint. Lina rolled her eyes.

“Did you hear? That Cleves girl got suspended! Four days!” Bessie exclaims, panting. Lina and Anne share a look. Bessie turns her attention to Kit. “Sorry about your boyfriend. I feel real bad for you.”

“Bastard got what was coming to him,” Lina mumbles.

Kit’s eyes widen. “Is he… Is he dead?” If Anne didn’t know how much her cousin cares for that douche, she’d think Kit sounds almost hopeful.

“God, no. Cleves’d have way more than a four-day sentence if that was the case. He’s at the hospital, I heard concussion and dislocated arm.”

Lina leans over to Anne. “Guess she really did fuck him up, huh?”

“Tile floor probably helped with the concussion, but yeah, if she dislocated his arm with her bare hands,” Anne replies.

Jane leans forward. “What are we whispering about?”

“Senior shit. Don’t get caught up in it, you’ll just be asking for trouble,” Lina says. Jane pouts but leaves the two to their conversation.

As soon as she gets out of school, Anne calls Anna. 

“Hey, Bo. What’s up?” Anna asks, sounding tired.

“Heard you got Thomas pretty bad,” Anne replies. 

“Really?”

“Yeah. Apparently he’s in the hospital, Kit wants to go see him later…”

“Shit,” Anna whispers.

“Annie, are you okay?” Anne asks. “Do you need me to come over?”

“I’m so sorry, Bo. Tell Kit I said I’m sorry, too.” Anna’s voice begins to waver. 

“Annie… Why are you sorry? There’s nothing to be sorry about. You protected Kit, I don’t think I can repay you.”

“I didn’t want it to go this far. I wasn’t trying to hurt him, I just wanted to get him away from Kit…” Anna sniffs on the other end of the line. “I would’ve been okay with him walking away with a couple of bruises, but this… it’s too much.”

Anne is silent for a few seconds. “I’ll be over there soon. Kit can catch a ride with someone else.”

“You’re sure?” Anna asks.

“It’s the least I can do.” Anne hangs up and speeds out of the school parking lot, tires squealing.

It takes Anne ten minutes to reach Anna’s house. When she gets inside, she greets Anna’s mom before going upstairs. She knows how to be polite. 

Once upstairs, she knocks on Anna’s closed door before walking in. Anna is curled up on her bed, but she sits up when she hears Anne walk in. It hurts Anne to see her girlfriend so broken. Anne sits next to Anna on the bed and lets her cry into her shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> told ya shit was gonna hit the fan


End file.
